Finest Hour (The Exiled Fleet Book 3)

by Richard Fox

  “We found the same frequency. We’re also going to Lantau,” Gage said.

  “Then we should travel together.” Klaven held his arms out. “But separately. You know what I mean. Albion ships are no longer under my protection. There is the conundrum that is Lady Christina. I’d rather not have her—”

  “The Indus need a new Albion ambassador here,” Gage said. “The governor accepted Lady Christina’s credentials.”

  “How does she feel about that?” Klaven asked.

  “I don’t care,” Gage deadpanned. Christina and Captain Arlyss had both blamed the other for the Renown’s unexpected departure from the battlefield. Gage had Arlyss removed from command and confined to quarters until there was time for a formal inquest.

  “Dodged a bullet there,” Klaven said. “When will you be ready to leave for Lantau?”

  “Twelve hours,” Gage said, “I’m evacuating what Albion citizens I can from New Madras. The governor’s sending Captain Birbal and the Arjan Singh with me…in case the Cathay Dynasty doesn’t believe what I have to tell them.”

  “Have you ever been to Kong space before?” Klaven asked.

  “I’ve not.”

  “Best be on your toes. Imperial intelligence has heard a number of contradictory stories of court intrigue coming from the Forbidden Continent. The Indus welcomed you with open arms. I doubt the Kong will be as friendly,” Klaven said.

  “I did all right with a planet full of pirates.” Gage touched his arm where he’d been stabbed during an honor duel on said same planet.

  “My people will talk to your people.” Klaven turned away. “We’ll arrive at Lantau together.”

  “What of the Reich?” Gage asked. “Does Kaiserina Washington know she’s at war?”

  Klaven stopped and half turned. “It’s complicated, Gage. Perhaps she’ll be ready and eager to throw these Daegon back into the hell they spawned from. Perhaps she’ll consider Diaz’s untimely death a tragic accident and repent to the Daegon by sending them my head on a platter. While it was my decision to—I mean, my hand was forced after their dastardly attack— the Kaiserina will do what she will. I don’t plan to stay at Lantau long. There’s a ley line to Reich space from there.”

  “It was…a pleasure to fight beside you,” Gage said. “Given the circumstances.”

  Klaven turned and bowed.

  “Albion and the Reich have shed each other’s blood for so long, perhaps a mutual enemy will stop us from fighting each other in the future,” Klaven said. “But I have a feeling this war’s just begun. As we say back home, via con Dios.”

  He went back into his shuttle, the ramp raising before he even made it back inside.

  CHAPTER 26

  Tiberian made his way down a narrow staircase aboard the Minotaur, Gustavus just behind him. The air was stale but still had a reek of desperation to it. He’d never ventured into the under decks assigned to the ship’s thralls. Such a thing was beneath his station.

  “Why here?” Gustavus asked.

  “Silence.” Tiberian went to a door and pressed his palm to a reader. A sensor suite passed over him and the door slid to one side. Gustavus gagged as the smell of blood and viscera washed over them.

  Inside was a mock-up surgical suite. Eubulus lay on a suspensor field, clamps over the stumps of amputated legs, lines filled with blood, glowing fluid and saline solution draped from his body to vials in a brightly lit life support station hanging over his body. Half of his body was blackened and burnt. Pus dripped from the wounds and spattered to a mat beneath.

  A thrall crept out of the shadows and mopped up a bit of mess that had leaked from where a tube entered Eubulus’ femoral arty in his inner thigh. She scrambled back to her place by a medical waste can and huddled against the wall.

  Tiberian looked back at Gustavus, pleased at the young man’s lack of reaction to the sight of his father in such a state.

  “Doctor Ziev?” Tiberian asked, and a man with lime green skin and a slight hunch came out from behind a bank of work stations. “Will he live?”

  “He…does not have the will for it.” Ziev cringed slightly. “I’m keeping him viable as per your instructions.”

  “Wake him.” Tiberian went to his brother’s side and Eubulus groaned as fluid coursed through the lines.

  “Why?” Eubulus opened his remaining eye up to Tiberian. “You should have let me…”

  “This…doesn’t have to be the end.” Tiberian held his brother’s hand and motioned for Gustavus to come closer. “My writ is complete. The last of the Albion royal family is dead. I return to Lady Assaria in glory. Differences aside, you gave me a ship. Let me hunt them down. I owe you.”

  “Owe me a life like this?” Eubulus asked. “To survive just long enough to go back to Assaria—” He cut off with in a hacking cough.

  “So far as the others Houses will know…you died aboard your ship,” Tiberian said. “The family’s honor remains intact. Your writ will fall to me or Gustavus. I can keep you aboard. Change your appearance and gene profile to—”

  “No!” Eubulus reached for Tiberian’s neck, but his hand flopped to one side. “Live in your shadow as a cripple? Better to send me to the golems. At least there I might forget my failings. Alive…I’m a risk. Assaria has enemies. They find me and…where is my son?”

  “Here.” Gustavus put a hand to Eubulus’ chest.

  “Do better than me, boy,” Eubulus said. “You’ve the strength to do that?”

  “Yes, Father.”

  “Prove it,” Eubulus grasped Gustavus’ hand and pushed it away. “I died at my station, carrying out my writ. See that stays true.”

  Gustavus unsheathed a dagger and twirled the blade around his hand before holding it in a reverse grip. He stabbed down into his father’s heart and Eubulus jerked for a moment before going slack.

  Gustavus withdrew the blade and wiped blood off Eubulus’ arm.

  “Ziev.” Tiberian held a hand to one side and claws popped out of his glove’s fingertips.

  “I expected as much, master,” the doctor said. He held up a small pill. “May I depart on my own terms?”

  “No.” Tiberian swiped his hand across Ziev’s throat, ripping it out and splashing blood over the thrall, who began screaming.

  Gustavus threw his knife and the thrall went silent.

  Tiberian pulled a thermite grenade off his belt and flicked the ring off. He tossed the device onto his dead brother’s chest and the two left the hidden hospital room.

  They strode up the stairs together, the smell of smoke and burning flesh at their backs.

  “Now what?” Gustavus asked.

  “Now we return to Albion with what’s left of your father’s fleet,” Tiberian said, not looking at the other man. “Our re-conquest must continue, even after a failure like this.”

  “And the Baroness?”

  “Leave her to me.” Tiberian touched the small amulet around his neck. “I’ll do what I can for you.”

  “And the Albion?”

  “I have unfinished business with Gage,” Tiberian said. “Perhaps the Baroness will bid me to finish off the last of them. You’ll join me, if that’s her will?”

  “Gladly.” Gustavus gripped the hilt of his sword. “But save some prisoners for me. I will play my father’s death game until the last of them dead at my feet.”

  “But the Genevans are mine,” Tiberian said. “As is Gage.”

  CHAPTER 27

  “Arriving Lantau system now,” Price said as the Orion transitioned from slip space. “Fleet exiting the ley line in formation. Small miracles. Arjan Singh arriving.”

  “Have the Renown transfer Captain Arlyss to our ship and remind the other captains that court martial proceedings will begin once we’ve made contact with Lantau void control.” Gage waved a hand through the holo tank to wake it up.

  The Lantau system was heavily populated, with two urbanized planets and several outer moons boasting domed cities and deep caverns full of factories and cities
. They’d arrived at a little used slip point near a gas giant, and there was a lag as their initial hails to Lantau Prime had to travel several light minutes before they received a response.

  “Void Guard station at the gas giant appears to be abandoned,” Price said. “No electromagnetic activity at all. The one settle moon looks to be empty as well.”

  “Odd,” Gage said.

  “But we are picking up media transmissions from the inner planets.” Price shrugged. “Those are very active. At least we haven’t shown up to a system that’s supposed to have ten billion people just to find it empty. Maybe we caught something of a break here.”

  “Don’t,” Gage said. “You’re tempting fate.”

  “Castle Itter just emerged,” Price said. “Put some distance between us and them? Let the Kongs know we’re not completely buddy-buddy with the Reich?”

  “Not just yet,” Gage said. “Let’s not spook them. The Cathay can be a bit…testy.”

  “Sire.” Clarke from the comm station approached the command dais. “Sire, there’s something you should see. I don’t…I don’t know how to explain it. Our systems did an automatic handshake with a satellite relay and something in their buffers—”

  “You didn’t hack their systems like you did with the Indus, did you?” Price asked.

  “No, ma’am, nothing like that.” Clarke came up next to Price and touched a panel.

  In the holo, a news video played. Chinese characters filled the edges and a Cantonese language voice over began.

  “Working on the translation,” Clarke said.

  In the video, Cathay ships traded fire with Daegon vessels. One by one, the characters switched to English and Gage saw that the battle had taken place in the Tai Po system a few days ago.

  A white and red vessel, its hull very different from the Daegon’s linked diamond ships but instantly familiar to Gage, snapped by in the background of the video.

  “Stop, go back,” Gage said.

  “That’s not what you need to see, sire.” Clarke swallowed hard and the video sped up before freezing on a frame. More of the white and red ships were there, locked in combat with the Cathay, Daegon destroyers mixed in among the white and red.

  “Impossible,” Gage said.

  “Those are Albion ships, sire,” Price said, her face going pale. “Albion ships fighting alongside the Daegon…against the Cathay. Oh…I think we’re in trouble.”

  In the holo, a bright red square with a black border flashed. A hail from Lantau Prime.

  Gage rubbed the bridge of his nose, and watched the video as more Albion ships engaged and destroyed Cathay forces at the battle in the newsfeed.

  “Sire?” Price asked.

  “I don’t have an explanation for this.” He opened the channel and an Asian man with a wide military cap looked square at the camera.

  “Albion forces, I am Governor General Jeremy Han. You are declared hostiles at war with the Cathay Empire. Surrender immediately and prepare to be boarded or we will destroy you. You have ten minutes to comply.”

  The message looped and Gage cut the sound.

  “Commodore?” Price asked.

  “We double back to New Madras and we gain nothing,” Gage said. He moved the holo to Lantau Prime and zoomed in on the orbital docks circling a small moon. “Biafura, Mechanix, gold-plated Cathay ships of the Emperor’s Own…a half dozen other League worlds are here. This is where we should be.”

  “A fleet with two dozen battle cruisers just left anchor over Lantau Prime’s southern pole,” Price said. “I don’t think they were kidding about us surrendering.”

  “Pull the fleet into a sphere. Ready fighters but to not launch,” Gage said. “We’re going to hold right here and try and talk some sense into the Kongs.” He double-tapped Han’s face and a dialogue box opened.

  “Cathay forces, I am Commodore Thomas Gage of the Free Albion forces. We are not hostile to you or your Emperor. We will not surrender. Do not engage my ships, as we retain the League of Stellar Nation’s inherent right to self-defense. My fleet is here to conduct League business, and we demand safe passage to Lantau Prime.” He cut the transmission.

  “That’s…a bit forceful,” Price said.

  “Kongs.” Gage shook his head. “You show weakness and they will walk all over you.”

  “They have more warships in system than the Daegon sent to take New Madras,” Price said. “Just so you know.”

  The Cathay fleet vectored straight for Gage’s ships. He watched as the clock ticked on, and waited for a response. Even with the time lag…Governor General Han had yet to send a response.

  “More Cathay vessels weighing anchor,” Price said and several course projections from across the system converged on the Orion.

  “Albion does not surrender.” Gage scrolled through the news video, watching as ships from his home world fought and died beside the Daegon. “We don’t…which is why I can’t believe what I’m seeing here.”

  “And the Cathay?” Price asked.

  “I can’t take back our home with what we have now,” Gage said. “We need the League. The League is here. We’re not leaving.”

  “Hold.” Gage clasped his hands behind his back.

  It took another half hour before the Cathay ships neared to the point that light speed communication was near instant.

  Then a new hail arrived from the Cathay ship Liaoning.

  “Albion ships.” Han appeared in the tank. “This is your last warning. Surrender.”

  “The answer is still ‘no’,” Gage said. “No changes to my last message.”

  “Cathay torpedo tracking systems just went live,” Price said. “And the Castle Itter is hailing us. As is the Arjan Singh.”

  “Hold position,” Gage said.

  In the holo, the Cathay ships closed in. More and more alerts from active weapon systems pulsed warnings.

  Gage looked to Thorvald at the door next to the lift.

  “Have Prince Aidan moved to his new bunker,” Gage said. “I may…I may have misread this situation.”

  THE END

  The Exiled Fleet returns in POINT OF HONOR, coming in late 2019!

  FROM THE AUTHOR

  Hello to you, dear and gentle reader. Thank you for reading Finest Hour. For those of you who were so patient between this and The Long March, your patience is greatly appreciated. Not such a long time between this and Point OF Honor, I promise.

  It’s good to be back with Gage, Tiberian and Tolan. Their story is unfolding far better than I envisioned, and I’m honored to have you along with journey with me. I hope you enjoyed this read, and tt would mean a lot to me for you to leave an honest review on Amazon. If you want to go above and beyond, tell two friends about the book.

  I do enjoy hearing from readers, drop me a note at richhard@richardfoxauthor.com if you like.

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